This invention relates to vacuum cleaners and, more particularly, to an improved filter bag assembly for vacuum cleaners. Upright vacuum cleaners for domestic use generally have either a permanent cloth filter bag or a disposable paper bag. Those cleaners having a permanent cloth filter bag have certain advantages, since the filter capacity, and therefore the dirt-collecting capacity of the bag, are much greater than those cleaners having a disposable paper filter. The major drawback of the permanent, nondisposable filter is the fact that the bag must be dumped onto newspaper or into a paper bag, and this is an objectionable operation, particularly to an allergic person.